USA Patriot Act

News about USA Patriot Act, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Chronology of Coverage

Jun. 4, 2015

News Analysis; Pres Obama's revision of National Security Agency's phone record collection program seeks to tailor program to his own competing aims of addressing privacy concerns while preserving means of monitoring terrorist activity; in so doing, Obama has solidified his ownership of controversial program begun by predecessor George W Bush. MORE

Jun. 2, 2015

News Analysis; Senate vote to ratchet back scope of Patriot Act reflects nation deeply divided over meaning of balanced approach to threats of terrorism; even if Congress restricts domestic surveillance, it will leave whole the vast majority of post-Sept 11 programs; counterterrorism infrastructure constructed since 9/11 has become solidly embedded in American society. MORE

Jun. 2, 2015

Obama administration is pressing Senate not to substantially alter House-passed USA Freedom Act, given that authorizations for National Security Agency have lapsed and any changes to bill's provisions would necessarily entail lengthy negotiations that could delay agency's reinstatement. MORE

Jun. 2, 2015

Congressional Memo; Sen Mitch McConnell, after losing battle to extend National Security Agency programs, is being forced to embrace a House-passed NSA overhaul that he fears will weaken national security. MORE

Jun. 1, 2015

News Analysis; interviews with intelligence experts suggest that there are several available workarounds as National Security Agency grapples with temporary expiration of Patriot Act provisions that allowed it to gather phone records en masse; key aspect is 'grandfather clause' that maintains powers for any investigation that was begun before June 1, 2015; records can also be obtained by grand jury subpoena if necessary. MORE

Jun. 1, 2015

Provisions of Patriot Act allowing government to amass phone records temporarily expires following caustic Senate session in which Sen Rand Paul blocked extension; revised edition of law, which will curtail some bulk data collection by National Security Agency, is likely to pass in coming week; developments reflect profound shift in American attitudes toward data collection since days following Sept 11 attacks. MORE

Jun. 1, 2015

Republican Sen Rand Paul of Kentucky, who has been shunned and mocked by colleagues in his party, succeeds in temporarily blocking vote on renewal of section of Patriot Act that gives broad surveillance authority to National Security Agency. MORE

May. 31, 2015

Battle in Congress over National Security Agency's bulk collection of phone records is being waged among different Republican factions, with defense hawks squaring off against libertarians and new members clashing with old; Senate has been tasked with creating passable compromise bill, feat likely to prove challenging. MORE

May. 30, 2015

Pres Obama presses Senate to pass legislation known as USA Freedom Act, warning that allowing National Security Agency's domestic surveillance programs to lapse will make country more vulnerable to terrorist attack. MORE

May. 29, 2015

News Analysis; evidence provides little basis for alarmist arguments by both supporters and critics of the Patriot Act surveillance powers as vote approaches on whether to allow them to expire; there is no record of powers having been used to thwart a terrorist attack, nor of private data being misused for political or personal gain. MORE

May. 29, 2015

Editorial welcomes fact that provisions within Patriot Act giving federal authorities broad surveillance powers, which led to National Security Agency's collection of bulk phone data, are set to expire; calls for thorough debate regarding such surveillance powers and underscores necessity of balancing such powers with meaningful judicial oversight. MORE

May. 28, 2015

Obama administration urges Congress to reach deal on legislation governing National Security Agency's bulk collection of phone records before June 1 deadline, warning that failure to do so will leave United States vulnerable to terrorist attacks. MORE

May. 27, 2015

Pres Obama issues warning to Senate about risks attendant upon lawmakers failing to renew surveillance programs authorized by USA Patriot Act; it is unlikely that lawmakers will pass extension before scheduled expiration date, which means Obama administration and National Security Agency will lack legal authority to carry out such programs for some time. MORE

May. 26, 2015

Congressional leaders, with deadline looming, take unusual step of working during recess to reach agreement on changes to USA Freedom Act that would rein in National Security Agency's phone data collection authority. MORE

May. 24, 2015

Senate's failure to advance legislation on National Security Agency reform highlights discord among Republican leaders; after failing to get extension of federal government's bulk collection of phone records program, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has found promises he made about Senate’s operation hard to keep. MORE

May. 24, 2015

Senate rejects legislation that would revise Patriot Act to limit federal government's bulk collection of phone records; vote, and subsequent failure of short-term measure to extend program beyond June 1 expiration date, raises likelihood that government will lose access to phone records after deadline, creating security vulnerability. MORE

May. 22, 2015

Senate remains split over whether to temporarily extend federal government's bulk collection of phone records under Patriot Act or accept controversial House bill, known as USA Freedom Act, that significantly changes program. MORE

May. 22, 2015

Editorial praises Sen Rand Paul for calling attention to renewal of Patriot Act and bill's limitations in quasi-filibuster on Senate floor; echoes Paul's warnings that renewal will do little to limit violations of Americans' civil liberties, like government's secret phone-data sweeps of American households. MORE

May. 14, 2015

House of Representatives approves, 338 to 88, bill to halt National Security Agency's collection of data related to Americans' phone records under Patriot Act; vote places high pressure on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to bring Senate, which is more divided on issue, into line with House ahead of June 1 deadline. MORE

May. 9, 2015

May. 8, 2015

United States Court of Appeals rules National Security Agency program that is systematically collecting Americans' bulk phone records is illegal; three judges say Patriot Act does not cover domestic calling records; provision is set expire June 1, and ruling is liable to ratchet up Congressional tension. MORE

May. 8, 2015

Editorial applauds ruling by three-judge federal appeals panel, which determined National Security Agency's collection of Americans' phone records is illegal; holds decision is just in time as Congress is now in debate over reauthorizing section of Patriot Act that allows government to sweep records of those suspected of involvement in terrorist acts. MORE

May. 7, 2015

Letter from Reps Robert Goodlatte, John Conyers Jr, F James Sensenbrenner and Jerrold Nadler responds to May 2 editorial criticizing legislation that would modify Patriot Act. MORE

May. 2, 2015

News Analysis; proposal to limit bulk collection of domestic telephone data, centerpiece of legislation advancing in Congress, is meeting little opposition from National Security Agency itself; lack of pushback from the agency underscores just how dubious insiders were about the program from the start. MORE

May. 1, 2015

Broad bipartisan support has emerged to sharply limit government's ability to conduct surveillance of citizens under Patriot Act; House Judiciary Committee overwhelmingly approves bill that will curtail phone and Internet sweeps that were exposed by Edward J Snowden; fresh resolve follows more than decade of debate over Act, and reflects desire to strike better balance between national security and civil liberties. MORE

Mar. 16, 2012

Sens Ron Wyden and Mark Udall draft a letter to Attorney Gen Eric H Holder Jr criticizing a top-secret intelligence operation that they say stretches the powers granted by the Patriot Act to alarming lengths; both men are part of a handful of Democrats on the Senate intelligence committee that have grown increasingly vocal about dangers posed by executive surveillance powers; Justice Department has argued that disclosing information about its interpretation of the Patriot Act could cause significant damage to national security. MORE

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Gov. Chris Christie, taking issue with Rand Paul’s views on the Patriot Act, privacy and surveillance, said the Kentucky senator has made the United States weaker and more vulnerable to terrorist attacks.

In response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, the government has declassified two previously Top Secret rulings from May and August 2007 by Judge Roger Vinson of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. The disclosure filled in a missing link in the history of the evolving legality of the Bush administration’s warrantless surveillance program. The government previously declassified key rulings from January 2007 and April 2007revealing an internal dispute on the court as the Bush administration struggled to put the program on a firmer legal footing. Congress legalized the program with the Protect America Act in August 2007, ending the efforts to fit it into the existing Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

In response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit by The New York Times, the Justice Department has declassified additional portions of these two inspector general reports about the government’s use of Section 215 of the Patriot Act, which is the legal basis for the once-secret National Security Agency program that systematically collects records in bulk about Americans’ domestic and international phone calls.

As a senator, Barack Obama was a critic of the Bush administration, saying it cast a “false choice” between liberty and security. As he engages in his own surveillance efforts, he has spoken of finding a balance.